Board Members
VREF is governed by a Board of Directors, four of whom are statutory: The Medical Center’s Director, Chief of Staff, Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) for Research and Education. The Board of Directors has appointed an Executive Director to develop and implement policy and manage the operations of VREF.
Keith Repko, Board Chair
- Deputy Director of John Cochran VA Medical Center
Ziyad Al-Aly, M.D., Member
- Dr. Al-Aly, a Nephrologist, has been a dedicated VA researcher for over ten years. Dr. Al-Aly focuses his research on the relationship between kidney disease and clinical outcomes.
Amy Joseph, M.D., Treasurer
- Dr. Joseph, a rheumatologist with over 19 years of active research at the St. Louis VA, studies rheumatoid arthritis and gout. She has served on the Foundation board since 2012
Michael Crittenden, M.D., Member
- Dr. Crittenden is a thoracic surgeon. He is the Chief of Staff at the St. Louis VA, and he is also affiliated with Washington University. He has been in practice for more than 20 years.
Jay McDonald, M.D., Secretary
- Dr. McDonald, Chief, Infectious Diseases, has been actively involved in research at the VA for over fifteen years. Dr. McDonald’s research uses data from national VA databases to address questions related to infectious complications of immunosuppressive medications and bone and joint infections.
April Kirkley, Lawyer
- April Previously served for several years as an Administrative Officer with the VA.
Dr. Nathan Ravi, Member (not pictured)
Ellen Wright, Member (not pictured)
- Dr. Ravi an Ophthalmologist and Polymer Science Engineer. Dr. Ravi has been with the VA for a very long time, starting as a VA resident in Ophthalmology over 30 years ago. Dr. Ravi serves as both a board member and one of our Principal Investigators. As a PI , Dr. Ravi has several current SRS/IACUC studies with the VA and Washington University.
Ellen Wright, Member (not pictured)
- Ellen Wright has been serving the VA for over 17 years in various research roles. Ms. Wright previously served as the Research Compliance Officer for the St. Louis Healthcare System for 5 years. Ms. Wright is currently serving as a Health Science Specialist for the VA Office of Research Oversight.
Our former Executive Director, Mary Coleman, with our Board of Directors at a VREF event in 2019.